Gerry Adams claims he has nothing to hide after prosecutors decided to re-open a case into allegations he withheld information on his sex abuse brother.

Attorney General for Northern Ireland John Larkin is to probe the evidence relating to Liam Adams as claims the Sinn Fein leader knew about the abuse for years.

Speaking today Mr Adams insisted he had done nothing wrong and said he would co-operate fully.

He said: “I committed no offence and I know I did what I considered to be the right thing and that I co-operated fully with the PSNI, with the PPS (Public Prosecution Service), with the court.”

Mr Adams said he had no concerns about what Mr Larkin would find as he trawled through the case.

He said: “I don’t have any concerns about that, I am concerned that as members of my family pick up the newspapers this morning and on the back of this press conference pick up the newspapers tomorrow morning and wonder why there is an ordinate attention on this and on me.

"That is my primary concern. My primary concern is not me.”

The review was launched after it emerged the Sinn Fein TD was told by his niece Aine about the sexual abuse in 1987.

Mr Adams has faced criticism for not going to the police sooner after his brother confessed to him in 2000, but did not make a statement to the police until 2009.

Liam Adams will be sentenced on November 5 in Belfast after being found guilty by a jury last month.

The Sinn Fein leader dodged questions on whether he should continue on as leader of the party if the AG decides to move charges against him.

He said he would leave the issue with the Mr Larkin and would not answer any hypothetical questions in the meantime.

But he did hit out at the Democratic Unionist Party and Fianna Fail for making the sensitive case a political football.

Mr Adams said: “It is a matter for the judicial authorities. I just go with the flow. I do take exception to the quitter despicable lobby that is going on.

“I learn that the DUP and indeed some in Fianna Fail are coming at this in a very political way. I totally and absolutely reject that.

“I have tried to be measured in how I deal with all of this and to be sensible and reasonable.

“Aine was vindicated at the trial, Liam has been found guilty and that affects his family, it affects our wider family. There is a lot of hurt, a lot of trauma.”

He added: "We do our best to get on with it and to perform our duties despite the contrived reaction from some quarters."

Mr Adams was also asked about the role of his former solicitor Barra McGrory, who is now the Director of Public Prosecutions and made the decision to send the case to the AG.

He confirmed Mr McGrory had accompanied him during a police interview in 2007 when he was first interviewed by the police about the abuse.